Crazy
by KatLeePT
Summary: Maybe they are crazy. Mild Femme Slash. Mild Spoilers.


Maybe she's crazy to think it can be done. Everyone from her old life certainly would think she's crazy now - most of them probably think she's already dead and was crazy when they knew her -, but then she never fit in in her old life. Yet she feels like she fits in here. Maybe that's the craziest thing ever, Cassandra thinks, watching the world pass by through the portal window.

She had to come across the world. She had to become adept in dealing with a matter that most people, including the world's greatest minds, don't even believe exists. She had to risk her life time and again and almost die countless times. She had to make friends in the most unlikely of places. But finally, finally, she's found herself in a place that she can actually call, and think of, as being home. She's finally home. A small smile forming on her lips, Cassandra turns from the door and walks away.

Eve steps from the library's shadows, having seen Cassandra watching the portal for several minutes before finally, simply walking away from it. She glances in the direction she saw the beautiful redhead and then back toward the portal, wondering what the younger woman was thinking. She wonders, too, if her mind hurts tonight, if, indeed, there's ever a time when she doesn't hurt.

It's hard to believe her young friend is dying. It's harder still to believe she's finally found a woman who she wants to protect and cherish, who even shares her unspoken sexual orientation, but who she's to helpless to protect. She can stop the monsters from getting her. She can keep her safe from the fictionals, the evil Sorcerers, and the other crazies in the world who are bent on taking down Cassie and the other Librarians. She can save her from magic time and again.

But she can't save her from the monster inside her mind. All she can do is make the time she has a little more bearable. Unshed tears prick Eve's eyes. Maybe she is crazy, she thinks, remembering how so many people have reacted when she's had to, for one reason or another, admit that magic is real and that's what they're trying to save the innocents from. She used to be called crazy before taking this job, too: crazy for going headfirst into any battle, crazy for fighting to be considered an equal amongst men when her body has the natural look of a model, crazy for wanting the hard, fighting life instead of taking the easy way out, crazy for not wanting a man.

Maybe she is crazy, but she's not going to stop trying ever. She's not going to stop fighting the good fight, fighting to protect magic and protect normal, everyday people from its capabilities, fighting to protect her Librarians. And she's most certainly not going to stop fighting to protect Cassie, of all people, and trying to find a way to stop the terror in the most intelligent, and gracious, woman she's ever known.

She feels Stone's approach but doesn't look up. "Anything?" she asks quietly, her eyes intently watching the portal instead and the world passing them by outside.

She feels, rather than sees, him shakes his head. She sighs softly, her hands curling at her sides. Her frustration instinctively makes her want to hit something, but there's nothing to hit.

"Wanna spar a few rounds?" he asks just as softly.

She shakes her head. "Nah." She glances at him appreciatively. She doesn't even have to tell him that her target in Tokyo also didn't work out; he already knows. "You'd think with all this magic," she whispers, still watching the globe, "something could heal her."

"We'll find it, Eve."

She looks at him, surprised.

"We'll find it," he repeats. "It's Cassie. We gotta."

She nods and slips away from him, going to her own room to think, brain storm, and research on new ways to cheer Cassandra and new possibilities to save her. Stone watches her go, his own hands flexing into fists at his sides. _Damn it,_ whispers through his mind. He's so wanted that old Sorcerer today to have the answer to cure Cassandra's brain grape, but it seems like the more magic they find, the more impossible a cure for their friend seems.

He's used to protecting the ones he loves, especially the women in his life, but he can't find a way to protect these two. He turns on the heel of his boot, walking away from the outside world and further into the annals of the library. It seems like he's ever further away from a cure, but that doesn't mean he's going to stop trying. Maybe it's the crazy part of him, but he's not going to give up trying to cure Cassandra as long as there's breath left in the sweetest friend he's ever had.

Keen eyes carefully watch as Stone walks away. They glance in the direction Eve and Cassandra went, but the women appear to be safely gone. Only when he's certain he's alone does Ezekiel continue on his way to the portal. He dials up his target city for the night, neither wondering nor caring what the meaning behind Stone's and Baird's cryptic conversation had been. He knows they're playing with fire trying to save Cassie, but he can't exactly blame them. He'll never admit it, especially not to them, but he's taken more than his fair share of risks trying to save loved ones in the past. It's how he started thieving in the first place, after all.

But now he does it for a rush, and he needs a good rush tonight. The portal's about to open. He's ready to slip through when Eve's voice seems to come through the door itself. "Not tonight, Mister Jones. Not without one of us. And just so you know, Jenkins returned the crown jewels today."

"What?!" the thief exclaims in surprise. "Bugger!" He slips away, knowing he's going to have to more carefully plan his next scheme, before Baird can hear her own voice and come running.

Last to the door for the night is Jenkins. He approaches just as he sees Ezekiel running off and cursing underneath his breath. Eve will be pleased to know in the morning how well their plan worked, but for tonight, he turns off the portal. There will be no more adventures tonight, no more newspaper clippings, no more magical hunts. Even if one appears, he'll make certain his charges don't see until morning's light.

He secures the locks, making certain no one will leave without his knowledge - and nothing will enter. The Librarians work hard every day to save the world again, or at least certain pieces of it as they go, and Miss Baird puts herself in between them and death every single day, often multiple times a day. He knows they're frustrated tonight, each for their own reason, and feeling more than a bit lonely, but they're not alone. God willing, they'll never have to be alone again.

And tonight . . . Tonight, they will rest. Tonight, they will be safe, and in the morning, they'll come together again. The old Knight grins. Maybe he's crazy to keep trying to keep them safe, especially when Librarians always have such a short life span, but he's come to genuinely care for these kids and for Baird. He'll do what he can to help them, protect them, save them. He'll do what he can to make certain the family he finally has again is kept safe and whole.

Jenkins' chuckle echoes through the front corridors of the library as the lights begin to dim. Yes, maybe he is going crazy in his old age to think of this unruly and unlikely group as a family, but that's what they've become, even if they can't see it yet and even if they still have their own black sheep - every family does, after all - in the thief. But they are his family, and he'll do what he can to keep them safe for as long as there's breath left in his body.

Jenkins pats his pocket, remembering his planned excursion for tomorrow. He has a very important old ally to call upon tomorrow while the others are away and a very important old debt to bring back up. Eve and Stone have spent their every free moment for too long now seeking Cassandra's cure. When the time comes, he'll make certain the girl is saved, even if he has to give up a part of himself to do so. Despite his bright smile, he realizes in that moment that yes, yes, he is a little crazy after all, crazy about these kids, and they're worth every moment.

The End


End file.
